Mudra Mumbai wins creative duties for Femina

Rahul Kapoor - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
Mudra Advertising - Mumbai has won the creative duties for women's fortnightly magazine Femina, which is a part of the Worldwide Media Group, a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Bennett Coleman Company Ltd (BCCL).

Mudra had gained ground in the territory of BCCL in January 2008 by winning over the creative duties for the conglomerate's financial daily, The Economic Times (ET). Femina is the second brand from the BCCL stable that the agency adds to its list of clientele.

Lowe Lintas has been handling the business for about a year - it won the business in August 2008. Going by the ad spends of the magazine category, the brand may consider spending about Rs 10 crore on its marketing efforts.

Arijit Ray, executive vice-president and head, Mudra Mumbai, said, "Femina has almost mirrored the evolution of the Indian woman over the years. We are looking forward to charting a course for a vibrant brand like Femina along with the brand team, in the months to come."

Ray believes that its work on ET has definitely helped the agency, along with its work for projects such as The Power of Ideas, Most Trusted Brands, Brand Equity Quiz and The Manufacturing Excellence Awards - which made the agency a part of the consideration list.

According to Ray, Femina is Indian in spirit and international in look. The brand has set trends even where promotions are concerned. Extremely successful print and television advertising campaigns have consistently followed year on year.

Prachi Tiwari, brand publisher, Femina, says, "Mudra brings to the table a unique approach and a specific understanding of brands within the media space and various other categories. For Femina, which has been the voice of the Indian woman for decades, maintaining its leadership position with a fresh point of view is vital for us."

Over the past few years, the magazine has re-invented itself to cater to the modern urban woman. The task for Mudra is to fine-tune Femina's brand position and communication such that it is relevant and relatable for the reader today.

Tiwari says Femina is a brand that represents the values and concerns of today's Indian woman. Femina, however, does not merely represent this evolving woman, but helps in creating her and as a brand, has inherent values that it sees this woman has or aspires to have, she says.

Tracing Femina's advertising campaigns could well be used as a historical sketch of the evolution of the Indian woman. 'Woman of substance', the first catch line Femina popularised became so very successful that till date it is synonymous with Femina.

"Femina is built on the four pillars of beauty, fashion, relationships and empowerment. It does not overlook the other aspects to a woman's life and her interests. Health, childcare, career, finance, gourmet, the environment, art and music all find equal importance in this fortnightly." Tiwari says.

Femina boasts of a long list of celebrities and achievers who have contributed to its content. On the other hand, it has been the first to sight and applaud the individual success of women, and help them find their place in the sun.

For the record, in September 2006, Triton had snagged the Femina business from Bates 141 (then Bates Enterprise) and had been handling the business for few months. In 2007, the account was shifted to The Republic with no pitch process being involved that time. Triton had delivered the hugely successful 'Believe' campaign for the brand.